Egypt Reveals Ancient Mummification Workshops and Tombs in Photos

Egyptian archaeologists have made a significant discovery in the Saqqara Necropolis, located south of Cairo. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to numerous pyramids, animal graves, and old Coptic Christian monasteries. The discovery includes two human and animal embalming workshops, as well as two tombs dating back to the 24th and 14th centuries BC. The workshops, which date back to the 30th dynasty, were equipped with stony beds where the deceased lay down for mummification. Each bed ended in gutters to facilitate the mummification process, with a collection of clay pots nearby to hold entrails and organs, as well as a collection of instruments and ritual vessels. One workshop was used for the mummification of sacred animals. The tombs belonged to Ne Hesut Ba, who served the Fifth Dynasty as the head of scribes and priest of the Gods Horus and Maat, and Men Kheber, a priest whose tomb was carved in rock and features depictions of himself on the tomb walls and in a 1 metre-long alabaster statue. These discoveries are part of Egypt’s efforts to revive its tourism industry amid a severe economic crisis. The government aims to draw in 30 million tourists a year by 2028, up from 13 million before the COVID pandemic.